What's wrong with Ichigo?
by novicestar
Summary: One day, Ichigo starts acting strange towards Rukia. Why? One Shot IchiRuki.


**Hey there! Here's a little one shot for Bleach and my favourite pairing IchiRuki of course! Please read and review. :D Toodles!**

Dark eyes penetrated her, fixed her in place.

"Where are you going?" He asked, with a growl.

Her violet eyes flashed ferociously. His eyes locked with hers, forcing them to engage in another one of their meaningless battles of will power. _Who would look away first?_

He was damn sure it wouldn't be him, try as he might he could pull his amber eyes away from her petite figure. She was alluring and captivating and everything he desired.

Stuck in a stalemate, she adopted a defensive stance, as if she was readying herself for a fight. That was the last thing on his mind. His brow furrowed, contorting his permanent scowl.

"I don't need to tell you." She replied, eyeing him in a dangerous way that almost seemed to be daring him to stop her from leaving.

"You do if you want me to let you go, midget." His eyes bore into hers. He knew she could see he was serious.

"What is with you, idiot?" she yelled, infuriated. She wanted to smack him, but her arms wouldn't obey the command. They would not move. He took a step closer, and now their bodies were less than six inches apart. Her breathing hitched. For the first time since she'd met him, she was scared of him. Not that she'd ever admit it, but the way he seemed to tower over her now was frightening.

He didn't responded to her question, but simply looked down and observed her. Her face began to twist into a confused anger, and her cheeks reddened in fury.

"Answer me, Strawberry! What is with you tonight? First you request I come here alone, then you don't say anything at all, then you don't let me leave? "

The orange haired boy's face relaxed into a smile that left Rukia dumbfounded. She raised both her fists above her head, ready to pound into Ichigo's muscular chest, but before she could carry out the action, she felt something wrap around both of her wrists, calling a halt to her motion.

She looked up to see her companion wrapping his longer fingers around her wrists like manacles.

"Ich…Ichi…go…?" she asked with uncertainty. Confusion blazed in her purple eyes and all hints of anger had dropped from her face. Instead, there was a hint of a blush pricking her creamy cheeks.

"Now, are you going to hit me if I let go?" there was an amused undertone to his voice.

"Um, no?" Rukia responded in a daze.

"Good," he unfurled his fingers from around the dark haired girl's wrists and let her go. Her arms dropped to her sides where they hung limply.

"Oi, Rukia, you in there?" Ichigo queried, concerned.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. What's with you tonight? You're all…calm."

"Ah, yeah. Surprising, that."

"Why's that?"

"Because I need to tell you something."

"Well, just spit it out, moron!"

Ichigo sighed and dropped himself onto his bed. He leant against the wall, rubbed his fingers against his temples and closed his eyes.

"Ichigo? You alright?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Rukia, sensing his discomfort, sat down next to him and put her hand on his knee.

"I will always be here for you, whenever you need me. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Her words had inadvertently both hurt Ichigo and given him hope. He decided, for the first time in his life, to take the cautious, careful route.

He placed his hand on top of hers. He expected her to jerk it away, but when he turned to look at her, he saw her watching him carefully, with an anxious expression pulling at her features. He offered her a small smile.

She observed him through her cautious eyes. She'd never seen him this way before.

"You ok?"

"I think so." He gently laced his long fingers into hers.

The girl with the midnight hair inched closer to him and rested her head on his arm. She would've rested it on his shoulder, had she not been so much shorter than him.

"So, Strawberry, spit it out."

He exhaled deeply.

"Rukiaifiniyinlubbalu." He squeezed his amber eyes shut.

"What?"

Ichigo blushed.

"Say it again, slowly."

He looked away from her, whilst pondering how to response. Clearly, his nerves were shot to pieces. Oh he could fight hollow after hollow, arrancar after arrancar, but making his feelings known to the shinigami he loved seemed out of the question.

"Ichigo, what's wrong?" Rukia was trying to see the expression upon the substitute shinigami's face, in an attempt to read him like only she could. When she deduced that her attempt was futile, she looked down at his bed.

Ichigo turned his head to face her. He leant forward slightly, the blush on his cheeks deepening furiously.

"Rukia?"

Said girl tilted her head up, but didn't expect her companion to be so close. His amber eyes caught hers again, she felt sparks fly between them. She didn't understand the emotions in heart right now. She blinked a couple of times, but he was still there, holding her in an intense gaze.

He lifted his calloused hand to her soft, silky cheek, as he tried to steady his worried heart. They stayed still, time meaning nothing, like it had ceased to exist at all. Neither could tear their eyes from the other, even if the wanted to. After an insurmountable amount of time, Rukia slowly placed her hand on top of his, and intertwined her fingers with his. He placed his other hand on her other cheek and she linked her fingers with his again.

His heart was beating even faster now and his breathing was erratic.

"Rukia, I…" he paused, watching her expression closely. "I like you. Like, really like you."

Rukia's deep blue-purple eyes widened with shock, and surprise. Ichigo waited for her response.

She sat there feeling a little shocked and numb and unable to speak. Why would her voice not find the words she longed to respond with? She couldn't believe her ears.

"Ich…i…Ichigo…I…I…" and then she burst into tears.

"Rukia? Rukia, are you ok? Rukia?" He wrapped his strong arms around the petite girl and pulled her into his lap. She buried her face into his shoulder as the tears escaped. He stroked her hair in attempt to soothe her.

"Rukia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered into her hair and kissed the top of the head.

She pulled away from his shoulder and looked up at him with tear filled eyes.

"Ichigo, I'm not sad or upset," she laughed, "I'm happy."

She wrapped her arms around him and ran her fingers through his messy orange locks.

"I love you strawberry."

She watched the smile cross his face. His eyes lit up with happiness.

"Rukia, I love you more than you could ever imagine."

He tilted her head, and gently placed his lips upon hers.


End file.
